L.A.'s Arab-American Center

By Pat McDonnell Twair

After two years of preparation, the Los Angeles Arab-American community has unveiled a model for a five-story structure that will house a museum, theater, ballroom, library, exhibit hall, restaurant, and shops.

The $10 million project, designed by Egyptian architects, twin brothers Hisharn and Tarik Fathy, is the first such Arabic complex of its kind in the United States. The model of the Arabic building, replete with towers and arches, promises to be a landmark in Los Angeles's eclectic architecture.

Planners already have solved one problem—Los Angeles' skyrocketing real estate prices—in that the community already owns the land, a 33,000 square foot lot at 4121 Santa Monica Blvd., 10 minutes from downtown.

The property was acquired in 1979 with a $40,000 down payment and is jointly owned by the Arab-American Society and United Arab Community Club. Edward Azzarn has served as president of the board of the center since 1979. The existing structure's 150-person hall has served as a meeting place for the community, which nevertheless must rent from large hotels when staging functions for more than 200 people.

One year ago, the board of directors of the Arab Community Center joined forces with anthropologist Fadwa El Guindi and the Fathy brothers to launch the project as a non-profit, self-supporting cultural organization called "Arabesque. " Dr. Guindi is interim project coordinator.

The Most Ethnic City In the World

"Los Angeles is the most ethnic city in the world," according to Guindi. "Indeed, scholars of ethnicity concur that even supposedly extinct ethnic groups can be found in this city."

Noting that in the 1870s, Arab immigrants formed "little Syria's" in American towns, Guindi said the next generation moved out of Arab ghettoes and assimilated.

"But now, ethnicity is the big thing," she continued. "Since Arab Americans no longer live in ethnic neighborhoods in Los Angeles, the way to perpetuate our culture is through a center and museum. If we don't preserve our culture for our children, they no longer will be Arab."

Arab-Americans tend to organize in places of worship that divide them, she pointed out. "However, with our own beautiful center, we can tell the story of our rich heritage to the American people. We can build bridges with our own museum, theater, and library. Much of our talent goes untapped, but with a theater, our young actors and dancers will blossom."

The Fathy brothers, who both hold doctorates in urban and regional planning from the University of Southern California, showed slides of the projected complex. They maintain a firm in Cairo, T.H.E. Planners, Architects, and Civil Engineers, and are designing a $30 million Gulf of Aqaba resort village on the Sinai Peninsula.

The overall Arabic architecture is designed to render a distinctive identity to the community, they explained, adding that its ballroom, restaurant, and shops will generate income to sustain its activities.

The four towers not only will serve as a landmark feature, but house elevators and stairs uniting quiet and active areas. In keeping with Arabic architecture, the structure looks inward on two courtyards. Cultural space is allocated to the museum, exhibit hall, library, and research center. Entertainment space is given over to a 500-person ballroom, 300-person theater, and meeting rooms. Commercial space is for a restaurant, coffee house, and shopping area. Other facilities will be two levels of parking, administrative offices, and two apartments.

The $10 million project is the most challenging the Arab-American community has faced in Los Angeles, but many leaders are signing on board, including Candy Lightner, the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

If it comes to fruition, the complex will be a unifying force among diverse Arab groups that make Southern California home to the second largest Arab population in the nation.

Concluded Guindi: "We're being interpreted by other groups. As an anthropologist, I want to make sure our culture is preserved in the best possible way. We need a museum to preserve artifacts of our rich cultural legacy. The ballroom will enable us to keep money within the community instead of renting space from hotels. We don't just want a building with arches, but an edifice that will make us take pride in our Arab heritage and that will make Los Angeles proud that we are part of the community."